The National Equality Bill[1]

Published:Put PravdyNo. 48, March 28, 1914.

      Published according to the text inPut Pravdy.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1972,

      Moscow,Volume 20,

      pages172-173.Translated:Bernard Isaacs and The Late Joe FinebergTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      (2004).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.

TheRussian Social-Democratic Labour group in the Duma has decided to
introduce in the Fourth Duma a Bill to abolish the disabilities of the Jews
and other non-Russians. The text of this Bill you will find below.

TheBill aims at abolishing all national restrictions against all
nations: Jews, Poles, and so forth But it deals in particular detail with
the restrictions against the Jews. The reason is obvious: no nationality in
Russia is so oppressed and persecuted as the Jewish. Anti-Semitism is
striking ever deeper root among the propertied classes. The Jewish workers
are suffering under a double yoke, both as workers and as Jews. During the
past few years, the persecution of the Jews has assumed incredible
dimensions. It is sufficient to recall the anti-Jewish pogroms and the
Beilis case.

Inview of these circumstances, organised Marxists must devote proper
attention to the Jewish question.

Itgoes without saying that the Jewish question can effectively be
solved only together with the fundamental issues confronting Russia
today. Obviously, we do not look to the nationalist-Purishkevich Fourth
Duma to abolish the restrictions against the Jews and other
non-Russians. But it is the duty of the working class to make its voice
heard. And the voice of theRussianworkers must be particularly
loud in protest against national oppression.

Inpublishing the text of our Bill, we hope that the Jewish workers,
the Polish workers, and the workers of the other oppressed nationalities
will express their opinion of it and propose amendments, should they deem
it necessary.

Atthe same time we hope that the Russian workers will give
particularly strong support to our Bill by their declarations, etc.

Inconformity with Article 4 we shall append to the Bill a special list
of regulations and laws to be rescinded. This appendix will cover about a
hundred such laws affecting the Jews alone.

1.Citizensof all nationalities inhabiting Russia are equal before the law.

2.Nocitizen of Russia, regardless of sex and religion, may be restricted in
political or in any other rights on the grounds of origin or nationality.

3.Alland any laws, provisional regulations, riders to laws, and so forth,
which impose restrictions upon Jews in any sphere of social and political
life, are herewith abolished. Article 767, Vol. IX, which states that
“Jews are subject to the general laws in all caseswhere no special
regulations affecting them, have been issued” is herewith
repealed. All and any restrictions of the rights of Jews as regards
residence and travel, the right to education, the right to state and public
employment, electoral rights, military service, the right to purchase and
rent real estate in towns, villages. etc., are herewith abolished, and all
restrictions of the rights of Jews to engage in the liberal professions,
etc., are herewith abolished.

4.Tothe present law is appended a list of the laws, orders, provisional
regulations, etc., that limit the tights of the Jews, and which are subject
to repeal.

[1]TheNational Equality Bill(official title of the “Bill for
the Abolition of All Disabilities of the Jews and of all Restrictions on
the Grounds of Origin or Nationality”) was drafted by Lenin for the
Russian Social-Democratic Labour group in the Fourth Duma. This Bill was to
have been introduced in the Duma, apparently in connection with the
discussion of the Ministry of the Interior’s budget.

Inpublishing this Bill on behalf of the R. S. D. L. group, Lenin
considered it a point of honour on the part of the Russian workers to
support it with tens of thousands of signatures and declarations. “This,”
said Lenin, “will he the best means of consolidatingcompleteunity, amalgamating all the workers of Russia, irrespectiveof nationality. (See the article “National Equality”, pp. 237–38 of this
volume.)